Four days, forty shows and almost four hundred freshers: it sounds like a recipe for chaos, but this is the Drama Festival 2005. Even an Edinburgh Fringe theatre couldn’t compete with these numbers. Maybe this is just because the Cuppers shows are half the length of a Fringe show, or maybe this is because OUDS has exactly double the amount of experience, being one hundred and twenty years old this year.After less than five weeks of preparation time, the results are often dazzling, which is impressive considering that the participants didn’t even know each other a few weeks back. The freshers-only teams from almost thirty Oxford colleges take to the stage at the Burton Taylor Theatre from Ttuesday to Friday of sixth week. OUDSuds appoints ten differentjudges a day to judge the first heat of the competition and from the original forty-odd entries, ten shows are selected to go through to the final round on Ssaturday. The teams are effectively given free range to play around with their performance, lighting, sound, props and costume (while under the watchful eye of TAtaFF and within a fifty pound budget) as a sort of crash course in Oxford theatre. This certainly makes for a colourful array of different shows, with last year’s offerings including one-man shows, musicals, dance interpretations, devised pieces and one group from Balliol even squeezed a cast of forty onto the cosy Burton Taylor stage in a rendition of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wwood.After the sweat and tears of the first round, the creme de la creme (at least in the opinion of the judges) are selected to perform in the Best of performance at the O’Rreilly on Wednesday of seventh week. This year, the week will be rounded off in style when on Ssunday of seventh week, OUDS celebrates its 120th anniversary with a dinner party at The Rrandolph Hhotel. This will precede a post-Ccuppers party and mock-Oscars award ceremony, where winners will be showered in champagne, with prizes ranging from Best New Wwriting to the Sspirit of award.Cuppers combats the two most notorious student problems: being strapped for time and equally strapped for cash. There is no excuse not to make a trip down to the Burton Ttaylor since it is just £1 a show and each one is shorter than an episode of Neighbours (and the standard of actingis undoubtedly infinitely higher). Last week, the Ssinger in the Ccaucasian Cchalk Ccircle declared his story was to last “two hours”. “Ccouldn’t you shorten it?” the Expert asks hopefully, to which the Ssinger defiantly refuses. Iif the was in Ccuppers he wouldn’t have such licence – firstly, he would have to be a much better timekeeper, and secondly he would have to shorten his story to half an hour. Hhaving had some sneak previews in the technical rehearsals last week, Ii can safely say that the unwavering variety and energy of this year’s shows will certainly keep you entertained, from scantily-clad dancers through to experimental devised pieces sure to titillate, excite, and a raise a few eyebrows. OUDS can claim to be one of the oldest university dramatic societies in Britain, and certainly the one with the longest legacy. Over the last hundred and twenty years, we have moved from an exclusive, members-only club to an inclusive society where anyone can come to try out their dramatic talents, and encapsulates this spirit. Over the decades, we have spawned such glittering alumni as Hhugh Grant, Ddudley Moore and Michael Ppalin, and perhaps the stars of the future lie somewhere in the whirl of drama activity taking place at Ccuppers this year. The full programme of events can be found outside the BT or on the website, so head on down and check out the talent.ARCHIVE: 6th week MT 2005
Singled out
Here’s the Good NewsPaul WwellerOut 21 November« «Mixing Chas and Dave piano, lazy brass and Weller-by-numbers lyrics (“And everything is everything”) to create a simple twelve-bar blues, the former Jam man has accurately demonstrated exactly what he would sound like if he leapt to the stage in the Wheatsheaf on a rainy Tuesday night. There’s nothing to offend here, it’s just that despite a layered texture, it goes absolutely nowhere. The world’s shortest trumpet solo, a touch of falsetto and even the odd cowbell can’t convince us that Ppaul Wweller really has any new ideas; instead,these pointless gimmicks feel tacked on to formulaic pub-rock. Not a good omen for the album. But Hhere’s the Good News, at least it’ll be over before too long.
ResolveFoo FightersOut 21 November« «Is it me or are the Foo Fighters beginning to get a little tiresome? Ccertainly, this latest slice of ear-pleasing rock has all the usual ingredients one might expect from these post-grunge rock veterans. Iit has reasonable guitar riffs and a decent melody, and Ddave Grohl’s soothing heartfelt vocals typically gain a slight growling edge upon entering the chorus. The problem is that we’ve heard it all before. plods along well enough, but lacks the bite of old. Iit’s certainly no Monkey Wrench or All my Life. Aall in all, this latest effort proves rather boring and immensely forgettable. The accompanying promotional literatureclaims that Resolve is “a true rock classic.” Well, it most definitely is not.
Dirty HarryGorillazOut 21 November« «« «With the same low-slung swagger that made 2001’s Clint Eastwood such a mammoth hit, this latest offering from everyone’s favourite two-dimensional superstars threatensto dominate our airwaves for weeks to come. Featuring a guest performance from the Ppharcyde’s Bootie Brown, a children’s choir and the retrofitted uber-production of Ddanger Mouse, this is a quite dazzling piece of pop-hop. Wwith a lead vocal that strangely recalls Belle and Ssebastian’s L-O-V-E, a spaghetti western wah-wah bass startlingly reminiscent of Back to the Future IIii, and impossibly good drum-programming, Albarn’s hand-picked orchestra is nothing if not virtuoso. Aand even if at times Ddirty Hharry’s sprawling, avant-pop narrative is a little bit too much to stomach, this is still music to make the Gallagher brothers weep into their Boddingtons.
ARCHIVE: 6th week MT 2005
Music
When We BreakCriteriaOut Now« « «Criteria frontman Steve Pederson enthuses “Iit’s anthem rock!… Melody just comes to me.” Wwhen bands talk about melody, they can mean those haunting note-changes which make your chest shiver like the onset of a heart attack, or they can mean those big, meaty, obvious riffs that stick in your head no matter what you take.Criteria describe themselves as unashamedly in the latter camp, and proceed to unload big, muscular riffs and meaty drums, which underpin the whole album, allowing big bright staccato leads to bounce around over the top, enveloping Ppederson’s voice in a warm, fuzzy embrace.And this is the thing about Ccriteria: while they put themselves forward as a big hairy Rrock Band with big teeth and a mighty loud roar, they are really more of a cuddly teddy bear than a Lone Wwolf or King Lion. Their songs rumble and roll, speed up and down, get loud and quiet (well, sometimes), but they don’t scare you, don’t inspire awe, don’t make you want to sacrifice small animals to their almighty hugeness, the way Balls-Out Rrockers are supposed to.The record opens with a few nondescript Foo-Fighter inflected ‘anthems’, which is where one fears that Ppederson sees his talents as lying. Iin fact, it is only once out of prospective-single territory that things get interesting. The lyrics pan out a bit, and there is a protest song of sorts, Self Help, where Ppederson shouts “who protects citizens from presidents?” over a schizophrenic riff in some insane time-signature with bursts of loud-quiet guitar. Iit isn’t big or clever, but all in all it makes for a good angry rock song. Run Together is another stand-out, with neurotic lyrics and a genuinely kick-ass melody. Hhowever, the My Cchemical Rromance-feel is marred by the intro riff’s resemblance to Van Hhalen’s Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love.The album comes out on Saddlecreek Records, but anyone expecting the kind of experimental, intellectual, and somewhat disturbing vein of music associated with Mr Cconor Oberst’s label will be disappointed by Ccriteria. They don’t set out to plumb the depths of the soul or soar the heights of feeling, just to rock hard like honest men. They sometimes use words like “concept”, “resurrect” or “culture of control”, but the glimmers of lyrical sophistication soon relapse into adolescent simplification.The desire to make a crowd jump up and down doesn’t leave too much room for complex emotions or ideas. This record chooses balls over brains, but there is enough of the latterto give hope for the future. One last word, however, must be reserved for the appalling quasi-ballad closer Connections, whose lyrics manage to say absolutely nothing about the relationship it describes, while the verse melody sounds (you’re not going to believe it) like one of little Ddenis Wwaterman’s write-the-theme-tune-sing-the-theme-tunes from Little Britain. Though no connection made here.ARCHIVE: 6th week MT 2005
Too soon to harvest
Too Soon MonsoonWheatusOut 21 November"Who are Wheatus?” you might ask. Well, once upon a time (in fact, back in the days when GCSEs were still a worrying prospect) Wheatus briefly bothered the charts with the single Teenage Dirtbag. Don’t pretend you don’t remember it, because you know very well that the painful memory of that song will be with you forever. Ttragically, after reaching the dizzy heights of singles chart success with their debut offering, the story took a turn for the worse. The band’s profile rapidly declined, with the result that they were dropped by Sony-Columbia Records two years ago. Too Ssoon Monsoon, the group’s third album, was therefore entirely produced by lead singer and songwriter Brendan Brown and will be released through a small independent label.Not that Brown is bitter of course, what with developing a new range of “Suck Fony” merchandise and singing about corporate dominance. Those evil executives at the record companies get a very bad press generally, and there are plenty of examples of record bosses destroying artistic freedom and overlooking true musical genius. Fair play to them though, sometimes their judgements are spot on. The artistic freedom which Brown seems to have been demanding from his old label is the freedom to continue writing mediocre pop-rock and get paid for it, and now he has just that. Oh, and he whacks in the odd swear word, just to make it clear that he has, you know, strong feelings. Aall in all there is nothing offensively bad about Wwheatus’ music, it’s just unforgiveably bland. Ppropelled mostly by simple guitar riffs, the more upbeat songs are reasonable but instantly forgettable, such as the opener Something Good. But these louder songs do provide a good showcase for one of the bands’ main assets, their female backing singers. Eeasily the most irritating thing about is Brown’s nasal whine, and so the harmonies provided on the big choruses are a welcome relief. Iin fact Who Would Have Thought? is possibly the best song on the album, probably because it was written and sung by backing singer Katherine Froggatt without Brown’s intrusion.Regrettably, further attempts to expand the group’s sound have resulted in the appearance of some highly dodgy, Wwurlitzer-style organ effects, the main offender being The London Sun, which sounds like a Rrobbie Wwilliams song being spat out by a funfair.Brown’s songwriting does seem to approach genuine subtlety and emotionin its quieter moments, such as at the start of Hometown, a song about New York and the aftermath of Sseptember 11. But it is just too difficult to identify or sympathise with a voice that is so relentlessly annoying. Being a Wwheatus fan obviously requires a lot of hard work and dedication.Too Soon Monsoon will probably not be easy to find: it’s hard to imagine something this drenched in mediocrity album flying off the shelves without any press coverage or promotion. Hhowever, the band are threatening to tour sometime in the new year, so Wheatus fans will soon get their fix in person. Ssurely there must be some Wheatus fans left, mustn’t there?ARCHIVE: 6th week MT 2005
Live
Courtney PineThe Zodiac10 November« « «One gets the feeling, listening to Courtney screeching something wicked on his horn, that it should be anything but a saxophone. Call it a schizophrenic sound. The man’s got manic chops that blow notes that bellow like a foghorn and scream so high and so well that you forget a saxophone is not supposed to make that sort of commotion. Hhe trades brass two’s and four’s with himself. plays tight staccato percussion rhythms and rhymes in walking basslines. Eevery once in a while, Ppine will dip into a mesmerizing improvisational strain that reminds you why aficionados have hailed him a cross between John Ccoltrane and Ssonny Rrollins.Of course, Pine’s music has always resisted classification and, if this is any indication of the virtuosity of his music, so have his fans. Ppine and his band (Rrobert Fordjour on drums, Ddarren Ttaylor on bass, Cchris Jerome on piano, Ccameron Ppierre on guitar and Ddonald Gamble on percussion) played to a nearly full house last Thursday night at the Zodiac, drawinga fairly large crowd of middle-aged devotees that nodded and danced to the beat with moves that haven’t been seen since the late 80’s. Eeven the twenty-something crowd dropped their beers and clapped along when the high energy of the performance crescendoed late in the act. The show was, at its best, six guys on stage rocking hard on instruments that aren’t, for the most part, known to rock.In so far as a disclaimer is concerned, as the band geared up Pine said: “This is jazz for 2005.” Most of what played at the performance was fresh and untested music from the band’s new album. Oxford is the third stop on a three-month UuK tour to promote Ppine’s new record, Rresistance, that takes a sharp turn from the reggae, soul, funk and world pop influenced 2004 release Ddevotion. The new music plays heavily on the sounds and attitudes of classic rock, funk, soul, and even a little 80’s punk.The beauty of the band is that their music straddles the line between what is and isn’t jazz. Aat times, Jerome played heavy organ chords that sounded a bit like Ccredence Cclearwater Rrevival. But then he progressed into lighter and flightier moments that elevated the piano above the crashing symbols on the other end of the stage. From moment to moment a sort of lead-footed feel crept into Ddarren Ttaylor’s walking lines. But then the band fell into a lull and his fingers licked the strings. Ppine and his band are not concerned with delineating a genre of jazz, but only in creating a musical space where they question what jazz is. Often this experiment elevated the music to brilliantly chaotic passages with conversing rhythms and thoughts. The mainstays of the band (Ppine, Fordjour and Ppierre) skillfully played back and forth, swapping each other’s rhythms and blues. Fordjour would hammer at the set while Gamble pummeled the toms and bongos with escalating intensity that almost brought the audience to tears. Hhowever neither Ttaylor nor Jerome could match the intensity when Ppine turned his horn towards them and plucked off notes on his soprano saxophone. But the tour is still in its infancy, and surely with a director as accomplished as Ppine, after a few more shows the band will gain a bit more cogency.ARCHIVE: 6th week MT 2005
Running the class-ical
In a city like Oxford, with an enormous number of classical concerts going on here, there and everywhere, it’s often difficult to pick out what’s worth your time and money. Oxford Uuniversity Pphilharmonia solves this problem with an exciting concert at the Ssheldonian on Thursday of seventh week. Ii spoke to Orchestra manager and violinist Miranda Ddawkins about running a successful student orchestra.“Wwell think it’s a fairly accessible programme and should be a lot of fun to watch,” says Miranda of the concert on the 24th. “Ccertainly anyone who wants to see a musical representation of a rather grizzly dismemberment will enjoy the Ddvorak!” The concert opens with ‘The Golden Sspinning-Wwheel’, a Ddvorak tone-poem based on a slightly bizarre Cczech ballad by Karel Eerben. “The fairytale will be retold in translation in the programme though, for anyone who can’t pick it out from music!” she jokes. Of course it is a perennial problem for orchestras to pick pieces which will both satisfy the beret-wearing arty types, stroking their goatees and muttering “where’s the Ppoulenc?”, as well as be appealing to first-time listeners. “Pperhaps,” Miranda agrees, “there is always the issue of treading the fine line between making a go of it financially and artistically but think we manage to achieve both. The Pprokofiev (Ssymphony no. 5) is pretty highbrow but is definitely one of the funkiest symphonies ever, with fantastic melodies, as well as being tremendous fun to play. Ssam, our conductor, is hugely knowledgeable and really knows what sort of pieces go well together.” Hhaving a ninety-piece orchestra makes any concert something of a spectacle visually as well as aurally, so “anyone looking for a first classical concert to go to should definitely come along as it will be pretty impressive to watch, and concertos are always fairly visual too.” This concert features Cchopin’s Ppiano Cconcerto with soloist Mariko Kato of Cchrist Cchurch who recently won this term’s Ccompetition with her supurb rendition of the piece.The orchestra has been around for over a decade and requires lots of dedication from all involved. “Iit is a big commitment for everyone, but it’s fun and excellent for people who really enjoy playing their instrument and want to play to the highest standard they possibly can. This year we’ve been particularly pleased: all our first years are of a terrifically high standard.” Wwith a tough audition, all players are post-Grade 8 at least but Miranda assures me that there are no major musical egos to contend with. “Iit definitely makes it easier to work as a team that way!” Ii ask Miranda if the orchestra has consumed her life yet but she assures me it hasn’t. “No, think generally people who come to Oxford know how to manage their time pretty well and the Pphil is especially good for people who want to play in a very good symphony orchestra but don’t want it to be the only thing in their life. Wwe rehearse once a week for three hours with two extra rehearsals near the concert so it’s not going to get in the way of your degree or anything.” Miranda herself is a second year studying Eenglish and French at Sst Hhilda’s, while Ssam Ddraper manages to combine conducting with a medical degree. Aabout fifteen per cent of the orchestra are doing music degrees but the Oxford Orchestra is definitely more of a lifestyle choice.Miranda denies that there is anything more than a friendly rivalry between the Pphilharmonia and other Oxford orchestras: “think we rub together quite well. Wwe even share players sometimes if they play a really obscure instrument.” This year, however, the can boast their own contra-bassoonist. “Ii’m always astonished that we pick up people playing these instruments, we even have a student harpist this year.” It’s one of the major crises of classical music among young people that very few can afford to play instruments like the harp, bassoon or trombone, so it is good to see them coming together at Uuniversity level.“Sstudent classical music is definitely thriving in Oxford,” Miranda confidently claims. “OUuMSs is a marvellous service and it must be a lot of work to run it. Iit’s hard enough coordinating one orchestra! There is a tremendous range of things going on and think any audience should have at least one concert or recital a week that they really want to go and see.” Sshe is likewise optimistic about the prospects for the Pphilharmonia this year: “Iit’s hard work but with the mix of players we have we should fill out the Ssheldonian every term. The orchestra certainly deserves that, they’ve been fantastic and can really do justice to a wonderful programme.ARCHIVE: 6th week MT 2005
Potter weaves more of his magic
“Dark and difficult times lie ahead”, the posters ominously warn. Harry Ppotter is back, riddled with teenage angst and tormented by vexing dreams in the fourth cinematic adaptation of JK Rrowling’s series. More brooding and suspenseful than ever, this instalment sees continuing to struggle with the knowledge that the wizard Voldemort, who killed his parents, is gaining in power and (again) harbouring the malicious intent to kill Ppotter once and for all. Worse still, Hharry has to find a date for the Yule Ball.The events of the film take place around the Ttriwizard Ttournament, a deadly competition between the most prestigious magic schools, Hhogwarts, Beauxbatons Aacademy,and Durmstrang Institute. Reinstated after a hundred years by Hogwarts’ Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, the tournament is an attempt to strengthen bonds between the schools, given the growing storm of dark rumours he begins to hear. From each school, a champion is selected to compete by the magical Goblet of Fire. Troubled by the raising of the Dark Mark and the reappearance of the Death Eeaters, Harry’s paranoia deepens as the Goblet selects him as a fourth champion in the tournament despite his being too young to compete.Director Mike Newell takes hold of the reins for this outing (the first Englishman to do so), the wide range of experience of his previous efforts – Mona Lisa Smile (2003), Donnie Brasco (1997) and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) – allowing him to mould the multitudinous facets of the story artfully. Hhis public-schoolboy experiences allow him to bring out the awkwardness and japery of the boarding school environment, adding a wry and convincing overtone to the action.The theme of adolescence is never far away, pubescence providing many humorous and touching moments as Harry, Hermione and Ron grapple with their raging hormones amongst the myriad other dramas besetting them. Comically, the Yule Ball triggers more upset than the sinister plot unfolding, as and try to muster up the courage to approach a girl and ask her out. agonises over his crush, Cho Chang, while Hermione picks Durmstrang action man Viktor Krum, much to Rron’s chagrin. Indeed, the Yule Ball scene is reminiscent of an Aamerican teen movie, with dresses, dances and tearful endings. Even Hagrid develops a love interest amidst the hormonal melee, with the towering Madame Maxime – the headmistress of Beauxbatons, played sublimely by Frances de la Ttour.The three tasks of the Triwizard Tournament punctuate the developments of the subplots providing an exciting framework to the story and the opportunity for some astounding set-pieces and CGI. The dragon scenes are jaw-dropping, with vertigo- inducing shots of the action as Hharry zooms around the landscape trying to outwit the dragon in a vast, rocky stadium filmed in the Scottish Highlands. Harry’s eventual confrontation with Voldemort is dark and hugely satisfying. Ralph Fiennes (currently starring in The Constant Gardener), disfigured into the lithe embodiment of blind malice that is Voldemort, is particularly impressive.The Goblet of Fire is perhaps the hardest of the four books to adapt to film. Iits length and numerous sub-plots and diversions make it a challenge for any director to preserve the core story while not losing too much subtext. Certainly, Mike Newell has taken more than a few liberties with the storytelling, in some cases distorting key clues and red herrings, and has left a sizeable part of the book’s material on the cutting room floor. Yet the magic survives. He has performed fantastically, skilfully transforming, arguably, the best book of the Potter series into, certainly, the best of the films made so far. Essential viewing.ARCHIVE: 6th week MT 2005
Small screen
TV Dramas That Changed the WorldChannel Five21 November, 10pmBroken NewsBBC 221 November, 9.30pmAirtime filled by the world of news, the endless speculations, recaps and reviews of yesterday’s or even last week’s papers, is the target of satirical attack in BBC Two’s new comedy Broken News.We meet the very serious Katie Willard, whose report on teenage crime is carried out with such a pace that her interviewees barely begin answering her questions before she moves on. Then there is the presenter using every possible strategy to pad out a story by delivering the news standing or strolling around the studio or interrogating the correspondentat Wwashington, whose fate it is always to be live when the key figure fails to appear.In the style of The Office, the show follows the fashion for comedy that is cringingly perceptive. Never slipping into the ridiculous, the scenes remain realistic to the point where you could be duped into thinking that you had tuned into the news. The comedy is slick, sharp-witted and well-acted, but the problem that immediately strikes you is how the series can sustain such quick-paced sketches for a whole six episodes.A similar series, The Day Today, the 1994 comedy which featured Steve Ccoogan, parodied the news but broadened its target of ridicule to feature celebrities like Noel Eedmunds, who was shown being rescued by helicopters as he ran amok on the roof of his house. Broken News, however, is a show based mainly around one joke, albeit a good one.TV Ddramas That Cchanged the Wworld taps into another zeitgeist; the trend for television shows about television shows, using the familiar formula of television parading its achievements, shocking, sexy or otherwise. This is television taking a long look in the mirror to admire itself or, as this programme would have it, to positively grin with pride. The programme sweeps through the twentieth century’s television dramas which, with the help of some tabloid-style narration, boast their ‘revolutionary’ influence on society.Admittedly, the programme has a good case for a few of the dramas that it picks out. The 1991 drama-documentary Wwho Bombed Birmingham? which dramatised the case of the six Iirishmen wrongfully convicted for the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974, had a direct impact on public opinion. Ddespite Margaret Thatcher’s stand in parliament that “we do not have trial by television”, the drama significantly raised awareness of the injustice and the men were released the following year.However, there is a hint of barrel scraping for many of the programme’s examples. Wwhen Sstar Ttrek showed a kiss between Ccaptain James Kirk and the sexy black Lieutenant Uuhura, the narrator makes a bold claim that it “helped move racial relations on by light years”. Aat the height of the Ccivil Rrights conflicts in Britain, the kiss thrived off its controversy rather than bringing about radical changes. More often than not, the programme mistakes the reflection for the object; the drama reflected changes rather than shaped them.As is always the method with these types of programmes, trendy but interchangeable media types appear to deliver their sanctified opinion on the topic. Wwithout any kind of historical grounding, a line or two of inane, heavily exaggerated commentary suffices to qualify the drama’s position in the canon of ‘world changers’. Filling up television space with, ultimately, pretty vacuous content, TV Dramas That Cchanged the Wworld looks strangely akin to some of the shows that Broken News pokes fun at.ARCHIVE: 6th week MT 2005
Culture Vulture
Lloyd George, France & GermanyExam Schools11 November 2005Last Friday, history professors draped in gowns, as well as a few enthusiastic undergraduates, congregated to listen to a lecture given by renowned academic Pprofessor Lord Morgan. The fact that many of the audience were wearing Rrememberance Dday poppies added a poignant dimension to the occasion. Iindeed, this lecture was aptly scheduled, supporting the ethos of the day and prompting us to reflect on the Great Wwar and the reasons behind it.Oriel alumnus Lord Morgan was doubtlessly one of the reasons why the lecture was so well attended, his contribution to history having won him the honour of a life peerage in the year 2000. Hhis work includes a biography of the important figure Ddavid Lloyd George, Pprime Minister of Britain and First Wworld Wwar leader, whom Churchill described as his “master”. Yet, despite Cchurchill’s reverence, his predecessor remains a much less celebrated figure, lacking the profile of the man recently voted as “The Greatest Briton”. This was, therefore, an opportunity for Pprofessor Lord Morgan to set the record straight about this important politician, a statue of whom will be unveiled in Pparliament Ssquare in 2006.This lecture was not delivered as a perfunctory list of facts and figures chronicling Lloyd George’s political career. Iinstead, Pprofessor Lord Morgan focused on his relationships with the French and the Germans, shedding light on his often controversial attitudes toward the two nations. Hhis loyalties were torn between his sympathetic tendancies toward Germanyand the patriotism that forced him to ally with France.At the start of the twentieth century, Lloyd George greatly admired Germany’s protectionist commercial policy as well as its strategies for social reform. Moreover, he felt that Britain could learn a lot from Germany, which he perceived to be the embodiment of national efficiency. Iin contrast, there was an underlying tension within Franco-British relations, highlighted by a clash of personalities between Lloyd George and French Pprime Minister Georges Cclemenceau. Ddespite their differences and the British leader’s natural affinity towards Germany, they managed to come together to lead the alliance to victory in 1918.Professor Lord Morgan emphasised the depth of Lloyd George’s pro-German feelings, explaining how this was revealed in his suggestions at the Pparis Ppeace Cconference and in his notably mild criticism of Hhitler. The way in which the speaker delivered this fascinating lecture was engaging and particularly impressive not only in its content but also in his ability to express intellectual points without resorting to inaccessible jargon.ARCHIVE: 6th week MT 2005
Rising to higher society
CalibrationAgnieszka MlickaRuskin Sschool of Fine AartNothing in the cultural world polarises opinion so much as the debate over the value of modern art. Iis it a deep and insightful reinterpretation of an artistic tradition or merely pretentiousand posturing? Aagnieszka Mlicka’s exhibition cannot be said to have resolved this apparently unsolvable debate, but her work does provide several interesting perspectives and demonstrates clear potential.The exhibition was staged, aptly enough, at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Aart, whose entry hall provided a fine display space for this small collection of works, although if the artist hopes to find a larger audience a more public and spacious venue may be needed.These works are designed to serve as a distillation of the core of finalist fine-art student Aagnieszka Mlicka’s essential artistic philosophy. This philosophy is expounded from the very beginning of the exhibit in the transparent invitation cards and the montage of transparencies which greet the visitor. These reflect the artist’s avowed interest in layering effects, question reality and meaning, and evoke her fascination with structure which plays a key role in the almost architectural style of some of her works.This style is effectively exploited in order to create feelings of entrapment and social confinement. This is most effectively evoked in her drawing of a female figure, trapped within the intermeshing buildings of a nondescript city, epitomising the confining and enclosing effect of the web of society. Ppowerful as this image is, the image of the social animal as a caged beast is, ironically, something of a tradition in modern art, which perhaps rather undermines the originality. Mlicka’s architectural vision of her art is expanded in her effort to incorporate the fabric of the gallery into her display.Mlicka has also added interest to her work by including the ideas board on which her ideas are born and developed; she thus provides an insight into the artistic process. However the quality of her future exhibits would be much improved by the inclusion of some form of written description or discussion of the artist’s ideas and philosophy. The experience of viewing the display would also be enhanced by an attempt to give an obvious and instructive structure to the arrangementof the pieces.Overall I do feel that despite these minor problems this was a well organised and conceived first event which effectively conveyed the artistic vision. Ssome parts of Mlicka’s exhibit are extremely interesting with great potential and it is to be hoped that with consideration expansion and maturing she will succeed in forging her own unique and dynamic style.ARCHIVE: 6th week MT 2005